Lord and Master (ON HOLD September 2017)
by GateFanWho
Summary: When a weapon from the Time War finds it's way to a galaxy far, far away, Sith Lord Darth Vader and the Death Star are flung backward in time to the years before the Clone Wars. The past and future soon collide with catastrophic consequences. Only one man might be able to save the galaxy and Time itself from being ripped apart: His name is the (Ninth) Doctor.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, or places from Star Wars or Doctor Who_

Time is constantly in flux, and the future is always in motion. In the ever twining sphere of Time and the eternal ebb and flow of the Force, galaxies, planets, and life forms blaze into existence and live out their stories until they are silenced. Time and the Force compose a majestic symphony of _what has been, what is,_ and _what will be_. But amid such a symphony are buried the parts called _what might have been_.

Simple sentient life forms and societies assume _what might have been_ is merely a wish or a sigh of relief, an abstract expression of unfulfilled potential.

But societies and individuals with a deeper understanding of Time know that _what might have been_ is often a strand of Time that flared to life once and wove an incredible, unique story all its own, only to be silenced by the fluidity of Time itself and forgotten by all but a chosen few.

This is a tale of what might have been. But whether it is only an abstract inkling, or a story of living reality lost to Time, you must be the judge.

 **Chapter 1**

Padawan Aayla Secura was certain that this was the moment she'd been waiting for all her life.

She sat in the center of the mediation room, her lekku hanging serenely, while her lightsaber components circled around her head, held aloft by her control over the Force. She could sense every feature and detail of their structures, from the blue crystal of her saber's blade that currently cast her own blue skin an even brighter shade, to the subtly curved lightsaber handle that felt more at home in her hands than she'd ever imagined possible. Her deep connection through the Force to every part of her weapon was a welcome sensation, but also a familiar one; it was not the source of the current joy that threatened to burst out of her chest.

For in this moment she also felt an immersive connection to everything around her unlike anything she had ever experienced before. She could sense every sharp stone angle of the octagonal room she sat cross-legged in, every grain in the stone re-enforced wooden door behind her. Greater still, every brick, pillar, wooden board, cloth thread or fabric strand in the entire temple were alive before her senses, painted in vibrant, indescribable colors by the Force. So too were the other younglings who roamed the halls, or sat in their own mediation chambers, practiced the art of lightsaber combat, or deflected bolts from whizzing, spherical remotes, nearly twenty people total. She could hear their breathing, feel the perspiration on those still learning the art of attuning their bodies to their will, see the blurs of light trails that their weapons made as they hummed through the air. She could pinpoint the location of those she knew by name through the Force.

She could feel the structure of the Hormslate temple itself, octagonal room after octagonal room spiraling out from the Absolute Center chamber that rose through all five levels of the building. With ease her mind could draw upon and swim in the energy of balance that flowed through the temple.

Beyond, she could feel the rocks and crags of the mountain peak that stood beneath this Jedi temple, a peak named Balance Point by the Jedi for its location at the planet's zero longitude and latitude point. This peak's location allowed the younglings who traveled to the Hormslate temple to use the truth and strength of balance in their training.

This temple was an experiment, a test, to see what benefits might be gained by sending particularly gifted youngligs here.

Aayla worked to control her pride and keep it from blossoming into arrogance when she recalled yet again that she was among the first batch of younglings to train in this special temple. How wonderful it was to return here and in teaching this current group of Jedi learners, while her Master traveled on other Jedi business.

Hormslate was mostly a chilly, desolate planet covered in rocks, dried-up or frozen lakes and oceans, and snow-covered mountain ranges. But here, along the planet's equator, the temperature was warm enough to support a wide range of flora and fauna.

In this moment Aayla was not as attuned to the plant and animal life surrounding the temple as she was to the people dwelling inside the temple's walls, but wherever she directed her attention, she could ascertain the types of creatures and life forms that moved through that location, from the four-legged arboreal mammals to the crawling hive insects that swarmed the bases of the thick tree trunks.

She had never been this aware of her surroundings through the Force before, and she reveled in it, her attention roaming through the halls of the temple, out into the warmth of the forest day, higher still into the clear sky, then back again. She was one with the Force...

#

Aayla's eyes flew open and she gasped.

She felt herself awakening from a deep trance of some sort. Yes, a vision, she had experienced some kind of Force vision.

But the memory of it was already fading, slipping from the recesses of her mind. Desperately she strained to hang onto it, clinging to the last traces of memory as the rest slipped away like water through her fingers.

Force visions weren't supposed to be forgotten so quickly, were they?

Yet, the final dregs of the vision lingered in her mind, the sheer weight of what she'd witnessed overwhelming her:

In her vision, Master Windu was about to die, and a stranger, a fantastical stranger, saved him from that certain death.

The details of Master Windu's peril, along with nearly every other detail from the dream, no longer remained, already long gone from her mind, but the details of the stranger were etched into her memory: a face both gaunt and handsome, short hair, piercing blue eyes, leather jacket, dark pants and shoes. He emanated wild and eerie currents through the Force, ancient yet new, trustworthy yet unpredictable, old yet young.

Her awareness of all nearby life was also gone, but she could still sense the man from her vision, could sense him…close by and in the flesh…

…In this very temple.

He was here; through the Force she was certain that somehow, inexplicably, the man who had saved Master Windu in her vision was approaching the Council Chamber right now.


	2. Chapter 2

In one movement Aayla stood and used the Force to join the separated components of her lightsaber together as one. She plucked the weapon out of the air and placed it on her belt. The Twi'lek rushed out of the chamber.

Soon she was running down the halls of the temple, a feeling of urgency pressing on her mind. She didn't understand how or why she'd been shown the vision, but surely she must tell the Jedi Masters currently in the temple.

Aayla entered the council chamber just as the crowd of five temple guards thrust a tall man in dark clothing toward the center of the room with the Force. The door hissed shut behind her as the guards lowered their arms.

Afternoon sunlight streamed through the room's four wide, large windows. The vibrant green treetops of Hormslate's forests stretched away in all directions.

Only three of the council seats were occupied. On the left side of the room sat Master Rhondo, the craggy features of his Weequay face resting as hard as stone at the moment, his keen eyes flashing quickly from her to the intruder. On the right side of the room sat Master Jinn, or Master Qui-Gon as he often preferred, frowning at the stranger intently and appearing unaware of her presence, though she knew that was far from the truth. And at the far end of the room, directly across from the door, sat Master Windu, his mouth turned down in a repugnant frown and his eyes, alive with a fiery gleam most of the time, shining with wild indignation. Those eyes glanced at her for a brief moment and she flinched, taking a step back but not leaving the room.

The stranger was facing away from her, toward Master Windu, but she knew instantly that it was the man from her vision. He wore the same clothes as that man, but more, he also gave off the same wild currents through the Force: His thoughts and intentions kept veering out of reach of her senses, emanating unpredictability or perhaps something else, something…different. He was unlike anything Aayla had read from a person through the Force before.

"What is the meaning of this?" Master Windu demanded slowly and calmly but with grave intensity. His gaze flicked to Aayla for a brief moment and she tensed, knowing his question was likely meant for her entrance into the chamber without permission as much as it was directed at the stranger.

"Oi, you heard the man," the stranger said in a reprimanding tone to the guards on his left, flashing Aayla the profile of his gaunt yet handsome face. He straightened his jacket with an indignant air. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I love the telekinetic stuff. Looking forward to asking how that works later. But where do you get off interrupting a bloke who's in the middle of a technologically complicated process that just happens to be the key to saving all of time and space?"

Aayla found herself tilting her head slightly and smiling conservatively at the man's words and accent, words familiar yet ridiculous at the same time, and at his unexpected response to Master Windu's question. Then she saw the expression on Master Windu's face and her smile fled.

"I am addressing you," Master Windu said to the stranger, rising to his feet. "What business do you have in a Jedi temple, and in its most sacred hall, no less?"

He walked steadily away from his chair and began circling the chamber in a counterclockwise path, passing by Master Rhondo, not taking his eyes off the man in the center of the room.

"Like I said, I was smack bang in the middle of stopping a catastrophic space-time event," the man replied. "And I'm sorry about the sacredness and entering without permission, I really am, but I needed the sacredness-"

"Needed?" Master Rhondo interrupted sharply. "What do you mean?"

"This structure, this whole place, it's fantastic!" the man said, gesturing with his arms spread wide. "Do you know it's right in the center of this planet's prime meridian and its equator? Oh of course you do, but really, this location's perfect. Draws on all kinds of positive energy and good vibes and all that hippy nonsense. Only it isn't really nonsense, in fact right now, it's what I need to save the universe. All that focused, harmonized causal energy will allow me to neutralize a nasty weapon just outside this planet's atmosphere before it can detonate."

Aayla blinked in alarm, but she instantly worked on controlling it.

Master Windu directed a concerned expression at Master Jinn.

"What is this weapon?" Master Windu asked.

Master Windu crossed in front of Aayla, and now the stranger was facing her and him, and Aayla could see the same strong, powerful eyes as the man in her vision.

"How about I neutralize now and explain later?" the man asked. "And by now I mean five minutes ago. Seriously, if I don t finish what I was in the middle of, millions of people will face a fate worse than death."

Aayla had to struggle harder to keep her alarm and fear under control.

"What was he doing when you found him in the Absolute Center?" Master Rhondo asked one of the guards.

"He was building some kind of…device," the guard replied through his mask. "It's unlike anything I've ever seen before. And there was something else in their too…a box, a blue box, some kind of upright shipping container perhaps."

"Shipping container?" the man said, sounding offended. "Come on mate, use a little imagination! And didn't you read the sign on the front?"

"No, I-"

"Never mind," the man said impatiently. "I don't have time for this little chat. None of us do."

He strode purposefully toward the exit, toward Aayla.

Three of the guards raised their right arms immediately and pushed him back with the Force. The heels of his shoes squealed on the floor as he was driven backward several paces.

He glared at them, and something about his look caused Aayla to move her hand reflexively toward her lightsaber for a split-second.

"Listen you lot, I'm not joking," the man said. "You have got to let me finish."

"We do not 'have' to do anything," Master Windu said, now moving in front of Master Jinn. "You are trespassing on sacred ground. No one but Jedi are allowed inside our temples without specific permission. You have received no such permission."

Master Windu lifted out his communicator and keyed it on. "Control, this is Master Windu. Are scanners picking up anything unusual in this system?"

He was silent as he listened to the reply.

"I see. Very well. Let me know if you detect any unusual readings."

He keyed the communicator off and put it away, frowning even more at the stranger, however impossible that seemed to Aayla.

"It's not the kind of weapon your tech will be able to detect!" the man said in exasperation.

Master Windu now stood in front of his seat once more. He lowered himself into it and fixed the man with a cold glower. "You will tell us the real reason you are here, and you will do so now," he said.

"Master Windu, I think we should listen to him."

Oh my, was that her? Did she actually say that? Aayla saw the shock on the Jedi Masters' faces and knew it was indeed her own voice. Then she noticed only two of the Masters showed shock at her speaking out of her turn: Master Jinn was watching her with calm interest.

"Padawan, why have you entered the council chamber without permission?" Master Rhondo asked.

"I am sorry for the intrusion," Aayla said. "I meant no offense. But I felt I needed to be here."

"Oh for the love of…" the man muttered loudly, reaching into his jacket.

The guards tensed, raising their left hands and lowering their right hands to their lightsabers.

But the object the man pulled out was not any kind of blaster, or at least did not appear to be: It was a silver, slender, pen-like wand device with a blue bulb on the end. The man began waving the device through the air, its bulb lit up, and it began emitting a strange whirring noise.

"Oh let the fast forward setting work," the man said, waving the device in the faces of the nearest guards, then over at Master Windu. "Just this once, let the fast forward setting work. I'll never complain about downloading that expensive VIP software patch again."

Aayla blinked at him, then returned her attention to the other Jedi. "Only minutes ago I was shown a vision by the Force," she said, summoning her courage. "I saw this man in it. He was, he was saving your life, Master Windu."

The head of the Jedi council's firm frown softened slightly. "Is that so?"

"Yes," she answered. "I am certain."

The stranger was regarding her anew now. His powerful gaze bored into hers, but she did not look away.

"A vision," the stranger remarked. "Interesting. And right on schedule, I'd say."

He turned to face Master Windu.

"I'm sorry for entering your temple without permission. I meant no disrespect," he said solemnly. "But I need to get back in that chamber and finish that device."

"I believe we should trust Padawan Secura's judgment," said Master Jinn.

"As do I," Master Rhondo said after a brief moment.

Aayla felt her muscles loosen slightly in relief.

"Very well," Master Windu said reluctantly. "You may-"

Aayla felt a jolt in the Force a second before a shrill alarm rang through the room.

"No," the stranger said sadly. "I'm too late."

Master Windu stood and lifted his comlink again, and listened.

"Understood," he replied. "Mirror it to the council chamber."

He put the com link away and waved his hand in front of him. The Force responded to his simple command: The four segments of the circular stone in the very center of the council chamber floor retracted, and a sleek, compact control console rose into view.

Master Windu stepped up to the console and pressed a button. A holo display of the space outside the planet appeared above the console, but the blue-tinted image was hazy and full of static, constantly flickering.

"There must be too much interference," said Master Jinn as he moved to stand beside Master Windu.

Master Rhondo rose and joined them in front of the console. Aayla wanted to join him but remained by the door, battling her rising anxiety and fear.

"Here," said the stranger.

He aimed the silver wand at the control console and it emitted the same strange whirring noise.

Immediately the holo image stabilized. Now Aayla could see a jagged object that resembled a lightning bolt frozen in place pulsing in the skies above the planet's atmosphere. Every few seconds a trail of light would streak away from the main object and then vanish. The object's light throbbed brighter and dimmer like a heartbeat.

"What is it?" Master Rhondo asked, glancing at Master Windu.

"I think we should ask him," Master Qui-Gon said, nodding toward the stranger.

The man in the leather jacket walked past the control console until he stood across from the Jedi masters with the console between him and them. He stared at the projection, his face, like theirs, highlighted by the blue holo light. His expression was dismal, furious, and despairing all at once, and it made Aayla feel the sickness of dread creep into her emotions.

"It's a neo-temporal rift," he explained darkly. "Caused by a weapon leftover from the most terrible war the universe ever knew. It's a wound in the fabric of time. A sentient wound."

Sentient wound? What could that possibly mean?

"What is it doing?" Master Windu asked.

"I could explain, but it doesn't matter," the man in the leather jacket said, not looking away from the display. "I can't stop it now."

Master Jinn was watching the stranger closely, his serene demeanor not altered at all by this new man or recent events. He stroked his short beard thoughtfully, then folded his arms.

"Who are you?" Master Qui-Gon asked the stranger evenly. "Where are you from? How did you get inside the temple without detection?"

"Where I'm from doesn't matter," the other man answered, his eyes still focused on the holo display. "How I got in here really isn't worth much now either." He finally looked away from the holo image, straight at Master Windu with a look of fury in his eyes. "My name is the Doctor, and if you'd given me the chance I could have prevented this. Instead, chaos is going to break over this galaxy like a tidal wave, and it's all your fault."

Aayla felt even sicker inside. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides.

Master Windu frowned heavily back at the man, the…Doctor, but said nothing.

"Something else is happening," said Master Qui-Gon.

A bolt of light streaked away from what the stranger had called the rift and down toward the planet. Seconds later the floor trembled briefly beneath their feet.

"Temporal feedback, since I couldn't disengage the link soon enough," the Doctor said quietly again, almost to himself, Aayla thought, as he watched the display again. He glanced over at Master Qui-Gon "Your entire Absolute Center, my device, and my ride home have just been incinerated by raw paradox energy."

Now something was emerging from the jagged object of light, its curved form rising steadily into view. Soon a great spherical object floated out of the rift. Soon after, the rift pulsed brightly one final time and then disappeared.

Aayla did not understand why, but as she studied the huge sphere on the holo display, uneasiness tingled into her from the Force.

For nearly a full minute no one said anything. Everyone in the room stared at the sphere in silence.

"It's some kind of moon," Master Rhondo remarked.

Master Qui-Gon pressed a button on the console. Lines of data began scrolling across the display. He folded his arms and stroked his beard again.

"That's no moon," he said. "It's a space station."


	3. Chapter 3

Grand Moff Tarkin hadn't felt this unsettled in a long time.

It all started going downhill with news that rebels had stolen plans for the Death Star, the very battle station Tarkin now stood in, hands clasped behind his back, feet planted firmly on the floor of the Overbridge command platform. Tarkin wasn't too worried about this, it was more of a nuisance really, but the news had put both the Emperor and Vader in a foul mood, and that was never a good thing.

But then, minutes ago, shortly before Vader was due to leave on the Devastator in pursuit of the rebel ship carrying the battle station plans, an anomaly had appeared on the station's scanners. Before Tarkin or anyone else could so much as order the onboard cantinas to close, the electrical space storm, or whatever it was, had pulled the entire station inside its grasp.

Now the powerful and mysterious anomaly was gone, but the station's scanners were displaying bizarre, unexplainable, and impossible data.

Every crew member on the Overbridge seemed to hear the telltale mechanical breathing in the same instant, for shoulders nearly everywhere in sight jumped or flinched, while facial expressions tightened fearfully. Even Tarkin felt his pulse increase slightly in concern, something as rare as his deeply unsettled disposition.

Darth Vader strode across the command platform to stand beside Tarkin, cape flowing behind him.

Vader had arrived on the Overbridge before any of the station commanders besides Tarkin, following the incident with the anomaly, and Tarkin wasn't surprised at all.

"What is our status?" Vader's mechanized, deep voice throbbed emotionlessly.

"Ten minutes and thirty-five seconds ago, we encountered some sort of electrical anomaly in space," Tarkin explained to him. "We were pulled inside it. Since then, it appears to have vanished."

"I want all the data you have collected on this anomaly," Vader instructed.

"Already done," said Tarkin.

He motioned with his right hand, and an aid rushed swiftly over to hand Vader a datapad. Vader took the pad from the man's trembling hands without a word and began scrolling through the information it contained.

"There's something else," Tarkin began. "It seems we've moved from our previous location. Instruments report that we are in orbit around Hormslate."

Vader's head flicked upward and he regarded Tarkin with the expressionless eyes of his black helmet. "Hormslate is nowhere near our previous location. Did we enter hyperspace?"

"Not from what we can tell. And, there's more." Tarkin searched for the words, his own thoughts and, though he was loathe to admit it, emotions reeling. "Our scanners detect a structure on the planet's surface. It doesn't exist in the records currently available but I recognize the building's design: it's the Hormslate Jedi Templte, the one constructed two years before the Battle of Naboo."

"What?" Vader demanded. "Impossible."

"Grand Moff, we're receiving a transmission from the surface," clipped the bright-eyed Communications Officer.

Tarkin nodded at the young man.

"Unidentified space craft, exit planetary orbit and state your identity and intentions," said the male voice transmitted through the Overbridge from the planet below. "Unidentified space craft, your proximity to this world is causing gravitational disruption. I repeat, exit planetary orbit and state your identity and intentions."

Tarkin knew his own face was paling now, despite his best efforts. He recognized the voice, he was certain:

Jedi Master Mace Windu.

Vader's gloved hand crushed the datapad in his grasp like a tin can and tossed it aside. He stepped closer to the Communications Officer's station.

"Replay transmission and reduce speed by 1.5," his synthetic voice ordered.

The Communications Officer obeyed, and Tarkin and Vader listened closely to the unmistakable voice of Windu resounding through the room.

"I must confess I'm not sure what to make of all this," Tarkin confided to Vader quietly.

Vader stared straight ahead, seemingly at nothing in particular, for many moments, breaths rasping steadily in and out of his breathing apparatus.

"There is one conclusion that seems quite obvious, however impossible," Vader finally replied.

Suddenly he turned, cape swirling in his wake, and walked with swift purpose toward the Overbridge's exit.

"I will travel down to the surface and investigate this matter personally," Vader stated without turning around.

Several objections sprang into Tarkin's mind, but he knew it was wiser to keep them to himself right now.

"I will order us out of the planet's orbit," he called to Vader instead.

Vader stopped just outside the room's exit and half-turned, displaying his dark, helmeted profile. "No," he said. "Leave us where we are and wait for my report. It will be some time before the gravitational effects of this station's orbit are devastating. My men require an extra lesson on keeping their focus, and the beings on the surface require a distraction."

Tarkin pursed his lips. "Very well," he said.

Then Vader left the room with his cape flowing after him.


	4. Chapter 4

"We're getting reports of irregular seismic activity throughout this hemisphere," Master Rhondo informed the other Jedi Masters grimly.

Another small tremor shook the room, the third in the past five minutes.

Master Windu's dark-skinned face glared wrathfully at the Council Chamber's central console. "Unidentified space station, this is Jedi Master Mace Windu," he repeated. "Your station is continuing to cause seismic disturbances. Withdraw from our orbit immediately."

They all waited, but still there was no response. Master Windu repeated his order, but again, his only answer from the communication system was silence.

"They're still ignoring us," Master Rhondo said indignantly. "How dare they?"

"Doctor, can you tell us what this craft is and who is piloting it?" Master Qui-Gon asked.

Aayla looked at the darkly-clothed man expectantly.

The stranger, the Doctor, folded his arms and stared at the holo display of the spherical station. His face still rested in an expression of resigned fury. "No. I've never traveled this far in space before. I don't know much about this part of the universe. But the weapon I was trying to disarm was designed to seek out a fixed point in time from the past or the future and shove it into the present. And this," he jabbed his forefinger at the holo-render, "whatever it is, is definitely a fixed point in time, ripped from its proper place in the time stream."

"You're talking about time travel," Qui-Gon summarized, sounding intrigued. "Such a thing is supposed to be impossible."

"It is," Master Rhondo said. "The Force gives life to all things. One cannot simply burrow through the Force to reach the future. It cannot be done."

Aayla nodded silently in agreement. No one noticed though. No one, that is, except the Doctor.

He watched her intently with folded arms and a faint twinkle of amusement in his eyes, though his face remained cast in resignation and anger.

"You lot don't strike me as the types to rule out something so easily," the Doctor commented, still looking at Aayla. "I've only been here for a short time, but I'm already getting the warrior-philosopher vibe from all of you."

Aayla smiled reservedly at the man's insight. All eyes in the room stared at him again, and no one spoke for several moments.

Another small quake rocked the room.

"Perhaps," Master Rhondo finally conceded. "But no occurrence of time travel exists in our records."

"Your records only include this galaxy," the Doctor said to him, "and there are lots more out there. Trust me, that planetoid space station is a fixed point in time from somewhere in this galaxy's future."

The Doctor stepped closer to the holo display of the station and leaned in so close his nose nearly touched it.

"At any other time I'd be fascinated to learn more about this thing," he said, pointing at the display again. "What a beauty! It's a marvel of engineering the likes of which I haven't seen in a long while." He stepped away, folded his arms once more, and fixed his furious gaze on Master Windu, who returned it with one of his own. "But right now that station is pulling this planet apart because of its close proximity, and that's only the start of what it will do to the fabric of this galaxy's reality."

"Can't we do something?" Aayla interjected, struggling to control her fear. "Surely there's still a way to stop it from doing more damage."

"Doctor," Qui-Gon began. "We made a terrible mistake in not trusting you immediately. We have no one to blame for this current predicament but ourselves, not you. But the damage has been done. Now we must work together to fix it. I don't fully understand everything that's happening right now, but it seems you do. Please help us Doctor."

The Doctor's eyes cycled through staring at each of the Masters in turn. After many heartbeats, Masters Rhondo and Windu nodded their agreement with Qui-Gon's words.

"Guess that's the closest I'll get to an apology from you three," the Doctor said. He nodded at Master Windu. "And your wise friend over there said the words you couldn't bring yourself to say. Must be lonely up there above us commoners."

"Doctor," Master Windu began acidly.

"Shut it," the Doctor said, cutting him off. Aayla barely stifled a gasp at his disrespect. "I'll help you. It's too late to undo the actions of the sentient weapon, but we might be able to lessen its effects."

"Our requests for Republic assistance aren't getting through," Master Rhondo said after lowering his communicator. "Whoever is in that station is jamming our transmissions!" He looked meaningfully at Windu. "The lieutenant is requesting permission to launch his fighters."

"Do it," said Master Windu.

"Whoever's up there may have no idea their actions are harming you," the Doctor said as Master Rhondo stepped aside and relayed Windu's orders through his communicator. "We don't know for sure that their intentions are hostile."

Another quake shook the room, this one violent enough to send their group stumbling in different directions. The Jedi Masters maintained their balance easily enough, but Aayla and the Doctor careened into each other.

Her hands splayed across his chest momentarily and her eyes met his intense blue orbs. For a moment the wild calm he radiated through the Force engulfed her. She stood staring up at him, entranced by a face she couldn't deny was handsome and a presence in the Force like no one else she'd met.

He smiled at her, such a genuine, amused smile. "Careful. I wouldn't lean on me for support," he said to her. "I'm liable to break in half under too much pressure."

She pushed off him and righted herself, looking away sheepishly. Control your emotions Aayla, she thought. Think logically.

"Their station is slowly ripping this planet in half and they are blocking our communication signals," Master Windu said to the Doctor. "We are acting only in defense. The lives of all the younglings here are in danger, as well as the life of Padawan Secura."

"Padawan?" the Doctor questioned. "Fancy word for student, am I right?" He glanced over at Aayla. "You're Secura, I take it?"

She nodded. "Aayla Secura."

"Nice to meet you Aayla. Remind me to ask you more about this vision of yours later," said the Doctor.

He adjusted his leather jacket and stepped closer to Master Qui-Gon. "Whether the owners of that station mean you harm or not, any fighter craft you've got aren't likely to do much damage to it," the Doctor said to him. "But I may be able to rig up a device to move the station away from this world, give it a bit of push so to speak, send it on its way."

"What sort of device," asked Qui-Gon.

"Similar to the one I _was_ building," the Doctor answered. "It'll be a bit more roomy now, what with your entire Absolute Center missing, which is great, I like room to work. I'll need help with the parts though. The ones I was using got burned out of existence."

"Do we have the parts you'll need?" asked Master Qui-Gon.

"Most likely." The Doctor held out his hand to Qui-Gon, waggling his fingers expectantly. "Have you got a data reader, tricorder, Samsung S6, anything like that?"

Qui-Gon retrieved his datapad from a robe pocket and handed it to the Doctor.

"Perfect," said the Doctor.

Whipping his pen-like wand out of his jacket, the Doctor aimed it at the datapad. The blue light on the end lit up again and it once more emitted its warbling noise.

"I'm uploading a list of the parts," said the Doctor. He finished and handed the datapad back to Qui-Gon. "Here."

Qui-Gon studied the list on the datapad's screen. "All of these components are available in this temple, but we'll have to remove some of them from our freighter, and without them the ship won't fly."

"Fighters engaging the station now," announced Master Rhondo.

Aayla and the others looked at the holo display. The squadron of Republic fighters were represented on the display as a small cloud of gnats buzzing toward the spherical space station. No sooner had the fighters appeared on the image, however, then turbolaser fire from the station sent the fighters scattering in evasive maneuvers. Moments later, a second cloud of fighters spewed out of the station, streaking toward the Republic fighters at incredible speed.

Master Windu operated the console and added a close-up image of one of the station's fighters to the lower right corner of the display. Aayla frowned at its ball-shaped cockpit and large wing panels.

"I don't recognize the design," said Master Windu, echoing Aayla's thoughts.

"The enemy's fighters are slowing down our assault on the space station," Master Rhondo stated.

"Looks like you've got another problem as well," said the Doctor.

He pointed to the lower portion of the display, where four transport craft, flanked by three of the station's fighters, sped downward, well ahead of the cloud of retreating Republic fighters. The four transports had slipped past the fighter screen during the engagement.

"Military transport craft of some kind," observed Windu. "The group's trajectory and speed puts it at the east landing field in less than ten minutes."

"You're going to have company," said the Doctor. "I wonder who they are…"

"Your parts list, Doctor, the device," reminded Aayla.

He glanced at her. "Right, right you are. I'll set to work on that." He looked over at Master Qui-Gon. "Send me those parts quick as you can."

And then he was running full speed for the chamber exit.

"Doctor! Our transport won't fly without those components!" Qui-Gon called.

"What's that? Bit of a draft. Can't hear you!" the Doctor shouted over his shoulder.

The door slid open for him and he vanished into the hallway.

Qui-Gon shook his head in frustration while staring at the closing door, but a hint of a smile twitched on his bearded face. He lifted his communicator to his mouth and walked away, slowly murmuring instructions to the temple staff and mechanics.

Master Rhondo moved beside Aayla and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Follow him, young Padawan," he said to her. "I still don't trust him. Make sure he causes no more trouble."

Aayla felt ashamed of the thrill of delight that blazed briefly inside when she heard his request. "Yes Master," she said simply.

Lekku twitching eargerly, Aayla jogged out of the Council Chamber in pursuit of this strange man called the Doctor.


	5. Chapter 5

Two transport vehicles stood silently on the landing pad behind the crowd of stormtroopers, who flanked the tall, wide entrance to the castle-like structure. Two troopers gave instructions to an R4 astromech droid with its interface plugged into the socket of the door's control panel.

"Don't get smart with me," clipped one of the two troopers, his helmet adding a mechanical pitch to his voice. He whapped the droid on the side of the head. "Get this door open, or we're trading you in on our next supply run."

Then both troopers heard the armor plating of their fellow soldiers creak and shift in unison. Instinctively they turned toward the landing pad.

Lord Vader strode purposefully and steadily across the pad toward them.

The R4 droid emitted a mechanical, mournful keen.

"Shouldn't have screwed around, droid," the trooper who'd slapped it muttered. "Vader's patience has run out."

"He never had any to begin with," quipped the trooper closest to him, _very_ quietly.

Vader ignited his lightsaber, and a beam of red light hummed at his side as he marched between the two lines of soldiers.

The R4 droid screeched, unplugged itself from the socket, and rolled frantically out of Lord Vader's way.

Vader swung the blade of his lightsaber up and plunged it into the durasteel door.

#

Kish Rhondo's long-practiced serenity in the Force fractured when he saw the red energy blade stab through the temple door.

The seven temple guards and fifteen Republic soldiers beside him exchanged furtive glances, yellow beams of dual-bladed lightsabers shifting and blaster barrels jerking.

"Master Windu, come in," Rhondo said urgently into his communicator. "Master Windu, are you there?"

"We've engaged the enemy in room 4-28," Windu's voice said strained and haltingly out of the communicator. "Our readings were correct. Half the invasion group broke from the initial trajectory. Stand by for our report."

"One of the enemy at my location may be a Sith," Rhondo spoke loudly, scarcely believing his own words.

Yet there was no denying his eyes. They could clearly see the red blade carving a slow but certain circular path through both halves of the temple door.

"Say again!" Windu's voice demanded from the device in Rhondo's hand. "A Sith?"

"That is correct, Master Windu," Rhondo said. "I estimate engagement will begin in less than three minutes."

Rhondo's stomach tightened and he was ashamed to admit to himself that he felt like an unseasoned, young Padawan again, unable to take his eyes off the sinisterly red energy beam.

"We'll join you as soon as we can!" Master Qui-Gon's voice called through the communicator. "If it is a Sith, you cannot let him or her set foot in this temple."

"I know," Rhondo said, summoning the Force to calm him and only partially succeeding. "I know."

#

"This group was only a distraction!" Qui-Gon called.

His green lightsaber blade whipped to the right and deflected yet another blaster bold into yet another white-armored attacker, burning through the chest plate of the man's suit and sending him sprawling on the ground. Five more men trampled over him, blasters blazing.

"I agree!" concurred Master Windu, his purple lightsaber energy beam spinning and whirling in a beautiful, deadly dance as it deflected bolt after bolt back at the oncoming enemy, flattening their ranks, littering the floor with dead bodies.

Qui-Gon frowned, bouncing a blaster bolt off his blade and directing it into the hands of the man who had fired it, causing him to drop the blaster and clutch his smoldering glove in agony. He did not approve of Windu's ruthless fighting style, preferring to incapacitate rather than kill if possible. But now was not the time for another debate with the Vaapad master.

Qui-Gon and Windu stood amid ten temple guardsman and fourteen Republic soldiers, their entire group facing the wide, shattered window of the octagonal room. Through that window, leaping out of two hovering military transport craft, came a horde of humanoids in white armor. Bodies clothed in the same white attire littered the floor between the two groups, while only one Republic solider had been wounded in his leg.

Qui-Gon halted his steady wade forward and began retreating, defensively directing energy bolts to wound and distract. Mace followed his direction, also retreating, but killing an enemy with every deflection.

Qui-Gon loathed causing so much death, but the group had left the Jedi no choice. Windu attempted to talk to them when they first shattered the window, but they had charged into the room, blasters firing furiously, and made no attempt to communicate since. This, plus the mention of a possible Sith at Master Rhondo's location, led to Qui-Gon's suspicions that this attack's purpose was to divide and distract the Jedi's forces.

A Sith! Qui-Gon could not accept it, not until he saw it with his own eyes or sensed it through the Force. For now, there was time for neither.

"Master Rhondo may need our assistance!" Windu called to the captain of the temple guard.

"Understood!" the guard captain, Henth Nemor, shouted in response without turning around. "We will be fine here."

Qui-'Gon agreed with that assessment. More than half of the attackers lay dead or wounded on the floor.

"Once you finish, come immediately to the main entrance," Windu ordered.

"Yes Master," Nemor said, lightsaber blade chopping off the barrel of an attacker's blaster seconds before Nemor's booted foot struck the man's chest and sent him careening backward into his companions.

In unison, Qui-Gon and Master Windu stepped out of the room, shut-off their weapons, and sprinted down the hallway.

#

Aayla had lost count of how many times the Doctor had tossed some piece of equipment over his shoulder. She wondered how many of the capacitors, muffles, circuit boards, and motivators he had flung over his shoulder in distaste could still function after such rough treatment.

The Doctor didn't seem concerned. He did, however, seem frustrated.

"The tech I brought with me in the first place was loads better than any of this," he complained.

He hunched over a cargo crate, elbow-deep inside it. Mechanical equipment and components clanked noisily together during his agitated rummaging.

Attempting to focus on something other than her worry about the Doctor's competency in these matters, Aayla eyed a pile in the center of the room. This pile contained the same variety of equipment as the pattern of discarded objects strewn over the floor, but the Doctor had tossed them through the air much more gently, so she assumed he intended to use them.

The walls of the Absolute Center rose on all sides. Sections of the large stone platforms used to navigate through the room jutted from the walls, waiting for a Jedi to summon them into motion with the Force. High above their heads, a skylight allowed the sunlight of the cold world to illuminate the room.

"So what's Defense Plan Z140?" the Doctor asked, hefting a stained wire harness in his palm.

"Huh? Aayla asked. "Oh. Yes, that's the plan we have in place if the temple is attacked. The younglings congregate in the central rooms of the third level, while the Jedi Knights and guardsman coordinate an attack plan."

The Doctor apparently liked the wire harness, because he tossed it into the pile in central pile.

"Smart move," he said. "Place the most vulnerable individuals in the heart of the structure, so the enemy will have to fight vertically and horizontally to reach them."

"Yes," Aayla agreed.

The Doctor glanced at her. "Your teachers are in battle, yet you're still here. How do you figure that?"

Aayla's face flushed guiltily. "Master Rhondo asked me…to help you."

"Did he now?" said the Doctor, still watching her. "Hmm."

Then he returned to the crate.

"So how does your family feel about you joining this merry band of warrior-philosophers?" the Doctor asked.

"I don't know my family," Aayla explained. "I know I was born on Ryloth, but that's all. Contact with family members is not allowed."

Holding a thick power cell for a freighter-class sublight engine and studying it intently, the Doctor asked, "Why's that then? Doesn't seem right to me."

"We Jedi believe attachments lead to problems. We are guardians of peace and order in the galaxy. Our service belongs to all. If we form attachments, we cannot be truly impartial peacekeepers."

The Doctor stood, tucked the battery under his arm, and walked toward the pile of equipment in the middle of the room.

"Kind of a cold logic to live by, don't you think?" he asked her without turning around.

Aayla didn't answer immediately. "I often desire to see my family," she said. "Someday I will, when my training is complete. But I believe in the Jedi Order. They are my family now."

The Doctor placed the battery with surprising care on the pile, then spun on his heel to face Aayla.

"You strike me as special, Aayla. I'm good at reading 'special.'" he said to her, blue eyes twinkling. Pride swelled inside her at the sudden praise. "We're still getting to know each other, but I think you are already beginning to see the limits of this life, the boundaries penning you in."

She cringed inwardly, wanting to deny his assumptions. But memories of late night longings and doubtful thoughts on long, lonely days would prove her a liar, even if only she knew.

"I don't know a lot about this Order of yours," the Doctor continued. "But from what I can tell so far, it's a movement for good in this part of the universe, if a bit self-serving. Just don't let it rob you of your individuality, Aayla, of your ability to reason and think with your mind _and_ heart."

Aayla bristled, but calmed herself quickly. "The Jedi Order is not self-serving," she said. "And it won't rob me of anything. I'm learning to surrender to the will of the Force. That's where true strength lies."

The Doctor held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Fair enough. Speaking of 'the Force,'" he said, raising his index and middle fingers in a strange clawing gesture, "I think you _can_ help me, Padawan Aayla Secura."

He fished an old datapad out of the pile at his feet and aimed his warbling wand device at it.

"What is that anyway?" Aayla asked.

"Sonic screwdriver," said the Doctor.

"Okay," said Aayla, not sure how to respond.

Suddenly a holo-projection appeared above the datapad. Aayla's eyes widened in awe as she studied the complicated rendering of a helix structure braced against the walls of the Absolute Center. The structure was made from an intricate, chaotic mix of the pieces of equipment lying on the floor next to the Doctor. She couldn't decide if the image was beautifully complex or a convoluted disaster.

"This is what I need to build to get that space station a safer distance from this planet," explained the Doctor.

Perfectly punctuating his words, the room shook and trembled from another small quake.

"I could do it myself, but it would take, oh, four hours or so."

"What? Why didn't you tell Master Qui-Gon that?" Aayla asked in shocked concern.

The Doctor shrugged, hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. "He wouldn't have agreed to my plan. Plus I knew your Master lot wouldn't let me in here on my own. They'd have to send in one of you wizards of telekinesis to keep an eye on me."

Aayla clasped her hands in front of her self-consciously. "You 'knew' this?" she asked.

"Let's call it an educated guess," said the Doctor. "Now, speaking of telekinesis, how would you like to show me what you've got?"

He held the datapad with its holo display toward her.

Excitement and guilt at such excitement stirred inside Aayla's emotions. "You want me to use the Force to build this," she stated.

"Right you are," the Doctor said. "You think you're up for it?"

Aayla walked over to him and studied the projection. "It looks complicated." Could she do this? Was she letting pride cloud her judgment?

Another quake rocked the room, rattling crates and components across the floor.

"I think you're special, Aayla," said the Doctor. "Even among the Jedi. Am I right?"

She smiled up at him. "I'll do my best, Doctor."

"Fantastic!" he beamed.

He shoved the datapad into her hands, startling her, then jogged to the far side of the room.

"I'll get out of your way!" he said to her, pressing against the wall. "Don't need me standing in your work area, mucking things up."

He put his hands in his pockets again, grinned at her, and waited.

Aayla breathed deeply, fighting the thrill of the Doctor watching her and the temptation to show off. Think of the Jedi Masters, and the younglings, she told herself. They need this device completed. Do it for them, not your vanity.

She stared at the holo image for another few minutes, doing her best to memorize every detail. Then she closed her eyes, and began.

#

The circular chunk of durasteel flew forward, crashing onto the floor in front of Rhondo and the others.

"Halt!" Rhondo ordered, voice bouncing off the floor and walls and echoing from the dim, vaulted heights of the hallway.

He saw the figure standing on the other side of the door, and he momentarily gave way to fear.

Framed by the curved hole in the door, a humanoid being wearing a black helmet and clothed in a black cape stood with red lightsaber in hand. Lights and diodes glowed from a mechanical board on his chest. Rhondo could hear a ghostly, steady breathing noise hissing from the figure's helmet.

What was it? A droid? A cyborg? Rhondo felt for the being's essence in the Force. He found immediate darkness, the black pit of the Dark Side, cloaked in horrible pain and searing rage. He could tell it was a man, though more machine than man now.

Then a wall dropped in front of the man's essence and Rhondo had to move quickly to protect himself from an even more intrusive probe through the Force.

The helmeted man titled his head slightly to the side while staring at Rhondo and probing him with the Force.

"Master Kish Rhondo," the man said, voice projected out in a deep, synthesized tone. "How intriguing. You died while mediating a dispute between warring spice gangs on Polis Massa."

Rhondo frowned, confused and unnerved by the man's words. "Who are you?" Rhondo demanded. "How do you know me? What is your business here, and why is your space station ignoring our requests and jamming our communications?"

"So many questions," throbbed the man's mechanically-altered voice. "I have questions of my own. Some you may be able to answer, but there are others here who's answers interest me more."

"Answer my questions, Sith!" Rhondo spat.

"I never met you," the dark figure said. "But I always thought a Jedi who was gunned down by mere Outer Rim criminal scum was unworthy of the Force."

In a heartbeat the man raised a black-gloved hand, blasted the first row of Republic soldiers off their feet with the Force, and stepped through the hole in the temple door.

The Republic soldiers who still remained standing opened fire, and Rhondo rushed forward, lightsaber in front of him and temple guards by his side.


End file.
